PowerMat intros an innovative battery charger

LAS VEGAS -- At CES this week, a company called "The Power Mat" will roll out a slick portable "mat" designed for charging up to about six mobile phones at a time.

The mat works with all sorts of mobile phones, contended officials in a booth at the CES Unveiled press preview event Tuesday night. The devices can be charged simply by placing them on the mat, which comes with its own power cord.

The power mat and power cord each fold up into a single small, neat carrying case.

The PowerMat had been trying to drum up interest in its mat for several weeks by sending out rather mysteriously written promotional materials to journalists.

When asked how the mat works, though, officials in the booth remained somewhat quiet, saying only that the technology is "proprietary."